


Flashback

by slstrow



Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF, Josh Hutcherson - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-18
Updated: 2014-03-27
Packaged: 2018-01-09 02:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1140622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slstrow/pseuds/slstrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shannon has been dating Josh Hutcherson for a few years and things are falling apart. Follow their journey on a road trip across America to see if they can repair their relationship, or if they go their separate ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of Fiction. I do not know Josh Hutcherson.

“I can’t believe you right now,” I shout as Josh slams the door to the bedroom behind him. I’m standing on the other side of the door in the hallway too angry to cry. My insides are so tensed up that I want to vomit but I just stand there shocked. I knew everything Josh was trying to tell me was a lie. “I am the same man. I haven’t changed.” What a load of crap! Josh Hutcherson was not the man I once knew. I could see the size difference in his ego. He has become so self-obsessed that I’m sure he is in the bedroom standing in front of the mirror making sure his hair is in just the right place before he graces the soft pillow with his hair’s magnificent presence for the night. I’m too upset to move but yet I find the courage and open the door to the bedroom we have shared for the past 2 years. I look in before I move my feet and I see that he is already sound asleep in the chair in the corner. I never knew why he insisted on having that old leather eyesore in the bedroom but now, in this moment, I’m thankful for it.

I reluctantly walk through the wooden doorframe and pause. Even though I want to stomp through the room to disrupt his precious “sleep-cycle” just like he has disrupted my life, I tiptoe over to our bed. Without him in it, for the first time the king size mattress seems a bit large for just me. He had been away filming before but I hadn’t noticed the sheer size of the bed until right now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still seething with the way he’s been treating me. Treating me as if I am some accessory, something he can toss to the side when a paparazzo  is near. He has changed, and no matter how many times he tries to deny it I will never, ever, see him the same way again. All that yelling back and forth has left me exhausted. I let out one more frustrated sigh and slowly succumb to sleep.

As I wake up in the morning I notice that it is an egregiously early 6:00 am. I roll onto my back thinking about how I haven’t seen this hour since I was a low-level production assistant to some B-List indie film I don’t even remember the name of. In all my reminiscing I don’t realize at first that Josh is no longer in that damn leather chair, or in the room for that matter. There’s no way he could be up this early. In all our years together he has never been up this early. I jolt up in bed to see that there are suitcases by the bedroom door and my mind goes to the worst place.

Josh is leaving me.

Oh no. This can’t be happening to me. I drop my face into my hands and a moment passes by before I feel someone sit on the edge of the bed. I slowly lift my head to see Josh: eyes puffy, nose red around the nostrils. Clearly he has been crying. He turns his head to me and says “Shannon, I know you’re upset with me, so that’s why I think its best if we spend some time away. Away from all of this.” He motions around him indicating that he is definitely leaving. I feel the tears begin to well up as I take in Josh’s face. He isn’t expecting me to do or say something to keep him there. All I can seem to do is let my jaw hang open like an idiot.

“Now, I’m leaving. Today.” He says as he gets up and walks toward the door to the hallway. Just before he leaves he turns to me, still on the bed unmoving from shock. He says, nonchalantly, “Did I not mention one of these bags are for you? You’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.” And as he turns to leave the room I see that stupid half grin that he gets whenever he is up to no good.

This is so typical Josh. Planning something rather significant without consulting me, as if I’m some sort of secondary thought. Since it has become clear that I am being forced into this I get out of bed and head straight to the en-suite bathroom to start getting ready. I can only imagine what dreadful things he has packed for me in that second suitcase so while I’m washing my face and putting makeup on I make a mental list of things to pack in a small duffle bag just in case he did something stupid, which is likely. I poke myself in the eye with my eyeliner when I hear Josh shouting from the living room. “Are you coming Shanny, or do I have to come in there and drag you out?” God, I hate that nickname. He picked it up somewhere and uses it when he thinks he is being cute but he is really just being annoying. I shout back “Give me 10 minutes, damn!”

I assume that wherever we are going we are flying there so I get dressed in a pair of jeans, a loose fitting V-neck tee shirt and my old red chuck taylors that I’ve had since I can remember. This is my go-to plane outfit because it makes me essentially anonymous in comparison to THE Josh. That way I can slip through security without being connected to him. I hate the paparazzi and lately Josh seems all about posing and flaunting his stupid jawline in front of them. I throw my wavy brown hair into a quick ponytail and grab my brown leather jacket and walk to the front of the house. As I stroll through the house with no intention to hurry, I pass the island in the kitchen and see that there is a thermos of coffee waiting there for me. Psh. If he thinks he can win me back with a cup of coffee he is dead wrong! But I grab it anyway because, by how much I drink, I am convinced that I’m 70% coffee at this point. Sipping on the hot thermos I lazily make my way toward the front door, grabbing my purse off the sofa along the way, to see Josh leaning on the door frame staring at his phone yet again. Sometimes I think that his phone must been in front of his face at all times or he will stop existing and heaven forbid we have someone stop existing in Hollywood.

I drop my duffle bag on the floor in front of his feet and the sound of it thudding makes him jump a little bit. “Another bag? Why did you pack another bag? You don’t even know where we are going. You don’t even know what you’ll need.” Josh chastises me and I roll my eyes, an involumtary reflex at this point. “Exactly, Josh, I don’t know what I need because you aren’t telling me anything. You never tell me anything anymore. So, since you haven’t told me where we are going, what we are even doing, I decided I better pack a little bit of everything because I know you pack like an idiot.” I retort. Clearly amused by my frustration, Josh simply picks up my bag and opens the front door to reveal the extremely sunny morning. I struggle to see the driveway through the blinding light but through the sun beams I see something unusual parked in Josh’s normal spot. I pull the sunglasses out of my purse and squint so my eyes can adjust and as they do I see a shiny black expensive looking car sitting there. I can only assume that this is the car that’s taking us to the airport but I find it odd that I cannot see a driver anywhere in sight. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks, we are not flying.

If I wasn’t already annoyed, I am now so disgusted with Josh that I am not even trying to hide it anymore. “What on God’s green Earth is that black monstrosity?” I shout at Josh. He just stands there in the doorway as I storm out onto the drive toward the thing. He is giggling like a little boy with a Tonka Truck. “I borrowed it from one of the producer’s kids. It’s a [Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k8OpClDk8TA/TqKpKI4hL9I/AAAAAAAABgQ/t9gtrVUAThY/s1600/mercedes%2Bbenz%2Bsls%2Bamg%2Broadster%2B2012-02.jpg)…” He just goes on babbling about the car like its a rare breed of dog or something. All I hear is that “WAH WAH WAH” sound that the adults in the Peanuts cartoons make. I’ve never been one to see the brilliance of cars. I’ve never understood why people fawn over a hunk of metal and plastic. As long as it gets me from point A to point B I’m content. I’ve driven the same Ford Taurus since I started driving. At this point I’ve lost all interest in what Josh is saying so I just open the passenger door and climb in without saying any more to him. I shut the door, buckle myself in and reach into my purse for my iPod and shove the earbuds into my ears a little too hard. I turn on the most relaxing music I can find and think to myself “If I’m going to be riding in this car for who knows how long I’m going to need to calm down a bit.” The first few notes of [Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmftpbG4ig) play just loud enough to drown out Josh’s smug grin, and we’re off.


	2. California

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh and Shannon begin their journey across the United States and things are off to a rough start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not know Josh Hutcherson, and this is a work of Fiction.

Just as we are about to get onto the interstate I have a thought. Why won’t he tell me where we are going? I want to keep my silence but not knowing where I’m headed will drive me nuts. I slowly remove my earbuds and turn my head over to Josh who is clearly having too much fun driving this car. “You never told me where we are going,” I state matter of factly. “I wondered how long it would take you to ask. I thought we could visit my parents. You like them and I haven’t seen them for a while so I thought this would be a great opportunity,” says Josh. “Your parents house?!” I shout perhaps a bit too loudly for such a compact car. Correcting my volume I continue “We are going to your parents house? We are driving all the way out to Kentucky? And you thought this would be a good idea, trapping me in a car for hours on end? Perfect.” “Don’t sound so excited. You like my parents, remember? Just because you don’t like me right now doesn’t mean you can’t visit with my family. Plus the drive might do you some good. Clear your head a bit maybe?” Josh says. He looks less confident when he thinks I am no longer watching him.

And before I can retort we pull into a filling station. “Why are we stopping already?” I ask. “We need gas. The owner didn’t fill it up before we left so I need to get fuel. Here’s some money, why don’t you go into the shop and get some snacks and coffee. As you have pointed out, this will be a long drive, why not have some tasty treats for the road?” he says with a smirk as he hands me his American Express Black card. He catches me rolling my eyes again so he puts the card back in his wallet before I can take it and hands me some cash instead. I walk into the shop and grab a basket. I pick up all of my favorites: Salt and Vinegar Chips, Goldfish, M&Ms, and chocolate covered pretzels. As I start toward the coffee pots in the corner of the shop, I walk past the Hershey’s Bars. They are Josh’s favorite. I grab one, only one. That’s all he gets. I grab two coffees and make my way to the check out counter where a young girl is running the register. She doesn’t even notice me because she is staring out the window at Josh. “Yes, it’s him.” I say to her in hopes it gets her attention so I can leave. She jumps a bit and then turns to me with a huge grin on her face. “Do you think he would get a picture with me? Is he coming in? Oh my gosh this is so exciting. I never see celebrities.” She goes on and on gushing about him while she scans my items. I notice a little stand by the register holding a bunch of crossword puzzle books. I grab one and add it to the pile of food. The cashier girl is still gushing about Josh but she pauses long enough to give me my total. I pay for the order and quickly leave the store so I don’t have to hear anymore of this lunacy. Yet another reason I can’t stand being with Josh! All of the girls fawning over him.

Josh is finished fueling the monstrosity by the time I get back with the food. I slide into the car and place the coffees in the cupholders. Before I have a chance to shut him out Josh is talking to me. “So what did you find?” he asks as he grabs the plastic bag from my lap. “Your favorite chips, your favorite candy, Goldfish, pretzels. Did you get me anything other than the coffee?” Josh is so good at being annoyed about the littlest things. “Yes I got you a Hershey’s bar. I know you like them.” I say. He finds the candy bar and smiles. “That’s right! Just like our first Christmas together, that’s sweet of you.” I nod not wanting to smile but it is a fond memory. We had only been dating for a few months and I had no idea what to get him.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_“Come on Stephanie, think. What do I get the boy I’ve been seeing for only a few months? I want to get something nice but not too nice.” I am near tears because I have been stressing out what to get my new boyfriend for Christmas. The talented Josh Hutcherson deserves so much but I can only afford so little. In my stress induced panic I call my best friend Stephanie. She doesn’t know yet who it is I’m dating but I’m pretty sure she’s aware that he’s some sort of celebrity. I’ve always been secretive about my boyfriends but this time I’m taking it seriously, to the point that Steph hasn’t even seen pictures of Josh and me together._

_I’m walking around the grocery store trying to think of anything to give Josh. “I’m not sure, Shannon. Whatever you do get him just make sure it’s sweet. I can tell you really like him and a genuine heartfelt gift is always perfect.” After we hang up all I can remember from her advice is “sweet”. I frantactly look around and notice a really large candy bar. Perfect! I’ll give him candy. That’s sweet, and thoughtful. I guess. Right?_

_Next thing I know I’m standing at his front door with a 5 pound Hershey’s bar with a bow on top of it in my hands. This could easily be the worst decision of my life. This is such a lame gift. He will think I’m cheap or something. I begin to turn away from the door when it opens and he’s there in jeans and a white t-shirt. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going? It’s Christmas!” he says to my back. I turn around and smile. “Merry Christmas, or rather Merry December 19th.” “Ha yes, it’s not quite Christmas but it’ll have to do with our schedules the way they are. Come in, please!” He is right. My family always plans a trip to visit my grandparents in South Carolina and I’m leaving early tomorrow morning. And as far as I know Josh has plans to be at home in Kentucky with his family. I walk through the front door clearly blushing. This is the first time I’ve been to his place. We’ve always gone to my dingy apartment after dinner or whatever. This place is huge. It’s like a modern castle. This whole house makes me feel inadequate. I’m so embarrassed by my tiny studio apartment. Especially because I never clean it up when he is over. There is always some pile of laundry on the floor or dirty dishes in the sink. And yet I feel oddly comfortable standing here in his home._

_As we make our way through the front of the house toward the kitchen Josh grabs ahold of my hand and leads me to the island where he motions me to sit down. “So I’ve made dinner, I hope you like tuna noodle casserole.” He says bashfully. “It’s the only thing my mom has taught me how to make.” “I love tuna noodle casserole.” I reply in hopes that quells his obvious nerves. He turns away from me to open the oven and pull out the casserole and I can see even from across the room that it’s pretty burnt. Clearly he is embarrassed as he set the dish on the countertop. “Well I hope you like pizza” he says to me with an awkward half smile. I’ve seen him do that smile before, but never with me. It’s sort of, endearing, I guess is what you’d call it. I smile back to let him know that all is well and pizza is just fine. He pulls a frozen pizza from the freezer and drops it on a cookie sheet before putting it in the oven. “Can I get you anything to drink, water, iced tea?” He fidgets with his hands, nervously antsy and still he tries to conceal it. “Iced tea sounds great” I reply. He pulls two glasses from the cupboard and fills them with ice. I start to feel a bit awkward just sitting here while he is doing all the work, so I get up and head toward the refrigerator to grab the pitcher of iced tea. I open the refrigerator to find it is filled with food and drinks. I have to search a bit but I find the pitcher of iced tea and remove it from the shelve. I close the door and turn to make my way back to the counter._  

_On my way from the fridge we run into each other and he spills the glasses with the ice all over the floor, getting my brand new cream colored sweater soaked through with iced tea. “Oh god. I’m so sorry. I’m such a dunce.” I say knowing the accident was all my fault. “It wasn’t your fault at all. Here let me get you something else to wear, you must be soaked.” He stammers nervously as he sets the empty glasses down and heads down the hallway towards what I assume is his bedroom. I set down the pitcher and follow him. We walk back through the house and we soon arrive at a closed door. Josh turns to me and says “I’m just warning you, my room is pretty messy but if you just keep your eyes up and don’t look at the floor I’m sure we can get in and get out without too much trouble.” I nod and he opens the door to his room and we make our way to the closet. He hands me a dark gray hoodie and points me toward the bathroom. “I’ll give you some privacy to change and meet you back in the kitchen?” he asks. I nod and walk into the large bathroom. Luckily the iced tea didn’t spill too much on my jeans so I just dab them up with a nearby towel. I take off my sweater and pull his hoodie over my head. It’s a soft grey hoodie that fits me almost perfectly. Well, not quite perfectly. It is a bit too big. The sleeves are just slightly too long and extend past the tips of my fingers. But it’s perfect because although it’s too large, it feels like I’m in Josh’s embrace. Just around the collar of the hoodie I can smell his unique scent. I can’t help but revel in the sight of me wearing his clothes in the mirror._

_I exit the bathroom and make my way through the bedroom back out through the house. When I reach the kitchen the pizza is out of the oven and Josh is sitting patiently for me. “That looks so much better on you, sweetie” he says. “Sweetie, huh? I’ll take it.” I reply. I never had a pet name before. He rises from his barstool and pulls my stool out so I can sit down next to him. “Thank you, dear” I tell him. He smiles knowingly. We sit together in comfortable silence while we eat our pizza. Josh must be hungry because he eats his pizza so fast. I am an unusually slow eater however so by the time he is onto his second piece of pizza I’ve barely even started my first. After a beat he looks over at my plate and I believe he realizes that he is eating too fast because his pace rapidly decreases and I see out of the corner of my eye his face flush just faintly. As I take the last bite of my piece of pizza I notice that Josh is just finishing his second piece as well. Once we’ve finished our pizza Josh grabs ahold of my hand and leads me to the living room. We sit down on the modern-looking sofa and he pulls me into his chest so I’m leaning on him. “Do you want to watch some television or something?” he asks._

_“I thought we were going to exchange gifts” I say wanting to get it over with._

_“Oh yes, of course. Just sit tight one minute,” he tells me as he gets up from his seat and makes his way to the hall closet. He pulls out a rather large wrapped box and walk backs to me. I pull his gift from my nearby purse. It’s not wrapped or anything so I feel somewhat foolish. “I didn’t know what to get you so I resorted to something sweet” I laugh uncomfortably, trying not to meet his gaze. But when I see his face light up all of my nerves melt away. “I love it. Hershey’s is my favorite” he reassures me. However, I can’t help but suddenly feel very embarrassed and I can feel my face heat up. “Oh sweetie, don’t do that. No need to be embarrassed. I love it, I do. See?” he rips open the package and takes a large bite of the candy bar. I can’t help but giggle at the sight of him trying his best to chew the chocolate. “Well now that I’ve made a fool of myself, it’s time to open YOUR gift” he slides the box toward me. I unwrap it and open the box to find tan fabric with dark brown buttons. I pull the garment out and find it is a Burberry trenchcoat. I’m amazed and shocked that I am holding such an expensive coat. It is easily the most expensive item of clothing I’ve ever held let alone owned. I think the only other thing that might even come close to this is my prom dress from high school, and I got that on sale. I suspect that my surprise is shown on my face. “You like it?” he asks sheepishly. “Like it? I love it!” I reply. I’m still staring down at the jacket in my lap when Josh grasps the collar of the coat and says “Here, try it on. I want to make sure it fits. If it doesn’t or you don’t like it I’ll return it and get another.” I stand and turn my back to him as he helps me put the coat on. It fits perfectly, it’s as if it was made for me and me alone. “It’s wonderful,” I tell him. “Good” he says letting out a breath I didn’t realize he was holding. He grins as he takes me by the shoulders and turns me around. I’m still shocked by the fact that he got me a gift so extravagant, it makes my candy bar look cheap and unworthy. I start to tear up a bit. I’m sad that I got him a lousy gift but also so happy that he got me something so lavish it shows he truly cares about me._

_“Oh no, sweetie. Don’t cry. I thought you liked it. I can take it back I promise” he says reassuringly._

_“I love it, I do. I’m just so surprised” I say. He is still holding my shoulders and gently stroking his thumbs back and forth, it’s really quite comforting. “I’m glad you like it” says Josh, “but more importantly, I’m so very happy to be celebrating Christmas with you.” He pulls me closer to him, so close that our noses almost touch. I smile at him and he slowly, gracefully places a chaste kiss upon my lips. It’s so soft and quick that I’m missing his lips before they are even gone. I slowly open my eyes to see him staring back at me with his little half grin. He pulls me close again and kisses me once more, but this time it is deeper, more passionate than any other kiss we’ve shared. With this passion, I can sense his fervor as he slowly but steadily parts my lips and begins to explore my mouth with his tongue. We stand there, intertwined, kissing for what feels like hours before we separate. “Now, how about some Netflix?” he asks, the red still in his cheeks from our intimate moment. It takes me a few seconds to gain my composure before I respond. “Sounds fantastic to me!”_

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A trenchcoat? Is that really what he got me for our first christmas? What a stupid gift. And come to think of it I haven’t seen that coat in ages. I’ve probably lost it. Oh well. It’s not important, just a coat. That just goes to show you what kind of guy he is deep down. Even then he thought he could impress me with his fancy coat. Ha!

I had snapped out of the day dream only to realize we were already back on the road. Josh was sitting in the driver’s seat fiddling with his phone yet again. “Put your phone away while we are driving! Do you want to get pulled over, dumbass?” I scold him. Before he can say anything I place my earbuds back in my ears and turn on my music. Something a little more upbeat this time because I need to get the christmas memory out of my head, so I put on [Neko Case’s People Got a Lotta Nerve](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXl870NoF4E). As Neko sings to me about maneaters I pull the crossword puzzle book from the shop bag and open it to the first puzzle. 1 Across: 4 Letter word for “a person who is not well liked”. I write Josh in the spaces knowing the real answer is “jerk”.

Not long after I fill in the spaces of the puzzle I realize we are not on the highway yet. I have ridden in enough cars to know the feel of the highway. I usually get sleepy riding on the highway and I’m not tired yet, so this raises concern in me. I lift my eyes from my puzzle and see that I was correct and we are not on the highway. This is sure taking a long time getting to the interstate. But then I see the road sign pointing to I-40 and exhale a sigh of relief. Just as we are approaching the entrance ramp I notice that we are speeding up...not slowing down to get on the ramp. Uh oh. We pass the ramp. Shit.

I look at him out of the side of my eye and see that he is yet again fiddling with his phone. “What did I tell you about your phone?!” I shout just loud enough to startle him. “You were looking at your phone and missed the exit for the highway” I tell him matter of factly. “I didn’t miss our exit.” Josh tells me. I turn and raise my eyebrow at him. “We aren’t going by highway.” He continues. “What do you mean we aren’t going by highway? First we aren’t going by plane and now we aren’t going by highway. What way are we going if not by highway?” I begin shouting again.

“Route 66,” says Josh, “Historic Route 66.”


	3. Arizona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this installment of Flashback, we find Josh and Shannon stopped in Arizona. As they take a break from the driving and get a bite to eat, will we see frustrations ease or grow? Find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a work of Fiction. I do not know Josh Hutcherson.

I have a migraine. I finish my coffee, which is the second of the day, and that seems to help a bit with the headache. I cannot believe that Josh would think it a good idea to take this trip by car, let alone take the longest way imaginable and go down Route 66. Don't get me wrong, I've thought about doing this for a long time but always by myself in my crap-pile of a car, never with another person; especially not Josh. I love the idea of me and the open road headed to wherever the wind takes me. But the thought of being trapped in a car with Josh along Route 66 for over a day makes me a little sick. Hence the migraine. I decide it's best to just ignore the fact that Josh spent the last 20 minutes trying to convince me that this is a good idea and close my eyes to see if that helps the headache any more. I put my earbuds in but don't turn on any music. They are the noise canceling kind and I just want silence. Plus it gives Josh the internationally recognized "Don't talk to me" signal.

Before I know it Josh is poking my shoulder telling me to wake up. I scowl at the thought of him telling me what to do but as I open my eyes I notice we are stopped at some run-down shack of a diner. "This was the only place for miles that serves food. Plus it's passed noon, I thought we could get some lunch," he tells me. "Fine," I say as I unfasten my seat belt and open the door to get out. We walk up to the door and the closer we get the less likely it looks that we won’t be getting food poisoning. "Perfect, I've always wanted to know what fresh salmonella tastes like," I say under my breath but just loud enough for Josh to hear). "What was that?" he asks. "Oh, nothing." I reply and give him my most sarcastic smile.

When we get inside I'm surprised by the relative cleanliness of this place. Josh immediately starts toward the counter but I head in the opposite direction to a booth in the corner. "I'm sitting over here." I deadpan. Just as he is reaching the counter stool, he turns and chuckles out an "If you say so, Dear," and walks over to join me in the booth. As he is sitting down on the opposite side of the booth a 30-something women in a faded uniform that must have at some point been orange but now looks more in the shade of baby food, strides over to us and greets us with a cheery "Hi there! My name is Lacey. I'll be your waitress. Can I get you something to drink?" And Josh does the thing that I hate. He makes a dad joke. "Hi Lacey, I'm Josh and this is Shannon and we'll be your customers today!" I blatantly roll my eyes and tell the waitress, "Iced Tea for me." "That sounds great, I'll have one too," says Josh.

I notice as the ditz walks away from us that she is flailing around to the only other person in the joint, the cook. As I'm sitting here watching her I can see Josh out the side of my eye and he is staring out the window presumably at the car. He seems a bit too enthralled with it. I hear a clamor from the grill area and can see that the two workers are freaking out. I groan inwardly since I know what comes next.

The waitress returns with our teas a little more giggly than when we first walked in. "I don't mean to intrude but-” I wince but the bubbly fangirl isn’t paying attention to me “-aren't you Josh Hutcherson, the guy from Hunger Games?" she asks. "I am he! Do you want an autograph or something? I love meeting my fans." She nods rapidly. Josh, thankfully, signs a nearby napkin after being offered pieces of clothing and body parts and hands it to the now super annoying waitress. I sit there during this entire interaction staring at my iced tea. I hear the waitress tell Josh that he is a huge inspiration for her and that she only has this waitressing job to save up to move to Hollywood and become and actress (as if he’s never heard that tall tale before). Josh says something like "Well, keep working hard and I'm sure you'll make it." She goes on and on about her "5-year plan" to become an actress and all I can think about is how she has yet to take my order. So I take this chance to glance over the menu, even though I already know what I'm going to get.  While I'm being ignored by the two idiots next to me, I notice the song that is playing on the radio at the counter. It's that silly 90's song [MMMBop by Hanson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHozn0YXAeE). I haven't heard this song in ages. I feel like the last time I actually remember hearing was driving in the car with my mom when I was younger, middle school probably.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_For years my mother has been pressuring me to be more outgoing. I was very shy when I was little but now that I'm in middle school I have become a little more open. I made three new friends this year and I was in the school production of Little Women. I loved being on stage with my friends and pretending to be someone else. I've always loved playing pretend and dressing up. Growing up in rural Michigan you don't always have a lot to do, so I found myself making up fantastic stories of adventure and romance and acting them out with Teddybear as the leading man._

_So, now that I’ve been in a play my mom thinks we should make a real go of it. She got me a talent agent and everything! Her name is Nancy and she is a robust woman with big hair and way too much makeup around her eyes. Although she is really nice, I can’t stand to be in the same room with her for more than a few minutes because her voice is whiny and annoying. Anyways, Nancy called two days ago and said that there was a movie where they were casting girls my age out in Los Angeles and that we should fly out there and give it a go. So here we are in Los Angeles on our way to the audition driving in a car that smells like old eggs. We arrive at the offices and as we walk up the steps to the front door I start to think this is a bad idea. "Mom, I can’t do this. I don't wanna anymore. Lets go home," I stammer as I stop dead in my tracks. My mom grabs a hold of my hand and says: "I flew all the way out here to Hollywood because you said you wanted to be an actress so we ARE going to do this and you are going to be great." The words she whisper-shouted at me sounded more like a threat that the encouragement I had expected. If I wasn't great, then I could guarantee that I was never going to hear the end of it; how I disappointed her._

_She grabs me by my wrist and essentially drags me into this building that looks way too creepy to be an office building. We walk through the hallways to the room they notified us to enter. I can already see a line outside the room and a small card table where a petite woman sits. We walk up to the line and stand for what seems like hours. As the line crawls I can feel my blood pressure rising and my heart racing quicker and quicker. My mother grabs a hold of my arm every time the line begins to move, as if she thinks I will run away at the first chance I get. Finally we get to the card table with the petite woman. "Name and age," she sneers. My mother immediately answers for me: "Shannon James, 12." "Here's your number. Do you have the script with you?" the table woman asks. "Yes we have everything with us. We are just so excited!" My mother practically shouts. Everyone in the hallway turns to look at us and my face heats up the shame of a thousand suns. The table lady rolls her eyes at us and points to the room. "Wait in there until your number is called," she tells us and we obey._

_As we walk into the waiting room I notice that I am not the only kid with an over-excited mother. There are moms running lines with their sons and daughters, some are dramatically pacing about the room as if they were the ones up for the part. There are very few chairs open in the small room but I find a pair in the far left corner. As I walk over to the chairs, I notice the boy sitting in the chair next to the empty ones. He looks like a normal kid. Not wearing flashy outfit or making a spectacle of himself in the room, he is just sitting there with the script in hand, reading it over. He reminds me of friends I made this year in school. Just normal in the midst of all this tension, noise, and flashiness. He feels how home feels. I feel oddly comfortable going right over to him and asking, "Are these seats taken?" He looks up from his script a little startled. "Nope, no one is sitting here," he replies, voice cracking slightly. I sit down in the chair and don't say much more. My mother is messing around in her monster-sized purse looking for who-knows-what. I look at the script which seems silly because I know all the lines I’m supposed to say. I’ve always been really good at memorizing things: words, numbers, anything really. So I just sit in this too-small room with all these kids and their mothers just staring at the wall ahead of me._

_I can hear the boy next to me murmuring his lines so I glance at him and he notices and stops his rehearsing abruptly. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you,” I whisper “You sound really prepared.” He looks at me like he is trying to decide if I’m crazy. “Thanks. My name’s Josh. What’s yours?” he asks me. “Uh...my name is Shannon,” I whisper again. “You don’t have to whisper,” Josh tells me. “I’m just afraid I’ll bother someone. Everyone here looks so serious,” I explain, glancing at the mothers pacing the aisles of chairs. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. They aren’t even paying attention. Watch this.” He reaches into his mothers bag on the floor in between them and pulls out a zippy bag full of baby carrots. He opens the bag up and begins munching loudly on the carrots. We blatantly look around the room to see if anyone has noticed. Nothing! I giggle a little. Josh then signals for me to watch again as he begins to blow up the zippy bag. Once the bag is full to his satisfaction Josh flashes me a look of anticipation and then SLAMS the bag between his hands as it makes a large popping sound and sending the carrots flying. We quickly look up to see if anyone has noticed and it looks like the only person to care about our antics are our mothers. My mother jumps in her seat which puts a halt on her purse diving. And Josh’s mom yanks the zippy bag from his hands and scolds him quietly. We cannot stop giggling._

_Our laughfest is interrupted by the table woman from outside “Ok, girls last names A-K follow me. Girls last names I-Z you’re up next.” “That’s me,” I say to Josh. I stand up with about seven other girls and as I begin to walk away, I hear Josh shout “Woo! Go Shannon!” I look back and he is giggling again and I wave good-bye._

_The group of us girls walk down empty hallway after empty hallway until we finally come to a large room. I think it may have been a cafeteria at one point by the looks of the crusty tiles on the floors. Plus it has the same pattern on the floor as my school’s lunchroom. We are asked to line-up side-by-side and wait until further instruction. I’m the last one in the line and as I look down the row the other girls don’t look nervous at all. And I’m just sitting here, twisting my hands together, trying to hide the gurgling noises my stomach is making, doing my best not to fall over and pass out. Suddenly the double doors at the far end of the room swing open and a very short man struts in and heads straight for the long table in front of our line. He sits down in a huff, shuffles some papers in front of him then shouts “Let’s get this going, Valerie!” The table lady who led us to the room stands in front of us and gives us instructions: “We are going to go down the line and you are going to tell us your last name then deliver the lines we gave you. When you are finished have a seat on the benches behind and wait quietly for everyone to finish. I will walk you back to the room with your parents.”_

_Immediately the girls spout of the lines with such gusto and drama that I’m suddenly very aware of how under-prepared I am for this. It takes everything in my heart not to break down and cry right here. I have to try and say the lines like I practiced, maybe that’s what they want for this movie. What is this movie even about? My mind is racing a million miles a minute and all of a sudden I feel an elbow in my side. The girl next to me is telling me it’s my turn! “Uh James…” I have a hard time saying my name and as I’m trying to begin the line I open my mouth and “BLLLLEH,” I throw-up everywhere! The other girls in the room shriek in disgust and the little man at the table shouts, “Oh great another puker! Get custodial on this and make it quick this time!”_

_The table lady, Valerie, quickly shuffles all the girls together and leads us down the series of hallways back to our waiting room. As we get back to our room she pulls me aside without saying a word and signals to my mother who comes racing over. “Someone here got sick in the audition and it’s our policy that in the case of projectile bodily fluids, the one who had the accident is asked to leave. Immediately,” Valerie states coldly. “Alright, we understand. Shannon, go get our bags from over there and we will be on our way,” my mom says. I quickly make me way over to where we were sitting before and I see Josh. Mortified, I keep my eyes on the floor. “Psst, how’d it go?” Josh asks. “Not super. I got sick and now they are kicking me out of the building. I gotta go.” I turn and run back to my mom in the doorway._

_We storm out of the office building as my mom has me by the wrist again dragging me in her wake. She is whisper-shouting at me again. I’m not paying attention to what she is actually saying because all I can think about is how on my first Hollywood audition i puked in front of everyone. Well not everyone. That nice boy Josh didn’t see me puke, though I did tell him about it. Oh well! It’s over now. I’m never doing that again. My mom and I reach our rental car and I climb into the back seat and stretch out. My mom is still going on about how I need to grow up and start acting my age and how I’m such a disappointment when she starts the car and turns on the radio. I begin to tune her out when I hear a song I recognize. Mmmbop by Hanson. I danced to this song so many times at our primary school dances. The catchy tune makes me smile for the first time since the audition and I don’t know why but I feel like it’ll be ok._

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I’m startled out of my memory when our food arrives. I don’t remember ordering anything and yet a patty melt sits in front of me. Josh must have ordered it for me. I sit there a little shocked for a moment staring at my sandwich when Josh asks, “Is it ok? I remember you liking patty melts before. We can get you something else if you want.” He begins to signal the flounsy waitress back to our table when I tell him, “No, it’s perfect, just what I wanted.” He waves off the girl and we begin our meal. I look at Josh’s plate and he too has a patty melt. I’ve never seen him eat one before so I ask with a smirk, “Copy much?” He chuckles. “Yeah I guess so. It just sounded so good so I thought I’d try one.” He picks up his sammy and takes a bite. I am surprised at myself that I am waiting in anticipation to see if he likes my favorite sandwich. I think he notices my intense stare and gives a little smile while he’s chewing. I break my stare and look at my food. I take a bite of fries then a bit of cole slaw before I realize Josh is waiting for me to ask about his sammy. “And how is it, your highness?” I snidely ask. “Pretty good. I can see why you like them so much,” he tells me.

While we eat I let Josh make small talk with me. I feel like he earned that by ordering so well for me. He asks me about what I’ve been listening to on my iPod. I tell him about the audiobook I bought. It’s Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book and it is really interesting. I mention the studies he’s included and the stories. Josh is doing his best to keep interested in my gushing about this book. By the time I’m finished with my elaborate detailing Josh has finished his meal and has paid the bill. I didn’t even notice the waitress come by the table.

We leave the diner with our bellies full of greasy food and as we get into the car I notice Josh wants to ask me something. “What is it?” I snap at him. “I was just going to ask if you wanted to see how fast this car could go. It is pretty fast.” I buckle myself into the passenger seat before saying, “No thanks.” I can tell he’s kinda hurt but it’s no matter because I pull out my iPod again and begin to listen to the audiobook. But suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I notice Josh has a zippy bag full of baby carrots that I hadn’t seen before. I grab the bag from his lap, dump the carrots into a tissue in my lap, and begin to blow up the bag. Once it’s full enough I close it off, look over to Josh and SLAM the bag in my hands making us both erupt with the giggles. We continue our giggle fit as we get back on Route 66 headed toward our next destination.

 


End file.
